Weather Wreaks Havoc on Mushrooms

I’ve never been fond of winter. I believe I may have mentioned that in my last post. It shouldn’t be surprising that winter is causing problems in the mushroom world. A few weeks ago, I wrote about mushrooms laws to try to protect people from poisonous mushrooms in the wild. While I still don’t believe we need laws against foraging, I believe even more that we need education about mushroom safety. 

Rains in California have been causing sulphur tuft mushrooms to pop up in larger numbers than normal. These mushrooms are dangerous for people and animals. Many dogs have been getting sick. They’re expecting more rain over the next week, which will likely lead to more mushrooms popping up. Eating sulphur tufts can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even collapse in humans, and can be fatal for dogs. Before eating any mushroom it is good to know what it is. If you aren’t positive, it’s best to stay on the safe side and avoid it. Keeping pets away is essential as well. 

Death cap, another variety of poisonous mushroom

In other winter sucks news, growers on the East Coast, especially in Pennsylvania, have had weather related problems causing damage to their businesses. There have been roofs collapsed from the weight of the snow, and delays in deliveries and harvests. While these businesses are working hard to catch up and deal with the problems, the shortage of mushrooms has caused the already high demand to spike. Businesses will likely be doing some catch up for a while. 

I have plenty of good reasons to dislike winter, and I’m pretty sure the people affected by the severe weather changes are agreeing with me right now. Is it Spring yet?